Articles tagged austerity

We call on all activists fighting banker-imposed austerity – here in the U.S. and worldwide – to come to Detroit, Michigan, on October 5 and 6, 2013. Join the people of this city under siege in convening the International People’s Assembly Against the Banks and Against Austerity.

Join us in Detroit on October 5-6 to demand:

Cancel the debt to the banks which is strangling our schools, cities, states and countries.

Guarantee workers’ jobs and pensions and services for the community. No union busting. $15
minimum wage!

End undemocratic, racist emergency management of our cities and schools.

A jobs program funded by the banks to put the unemployed to work rebuilding our cities. The banks owe our communities billions of dollars for the destruction they have caused.

Moratorium on all foreclosures and foreclosure-related evictions. Housing is a right.

Repudiate student loan debt. Education must be free and available to all. Increase funding for public education.

Stop racism and attacks on immigrants, women, the LGBTQ community and people with disabilities.

Two years ago last weekend Adbusters published the original OWS blog post, and the first operational OWS campaign site was set up on reddit.com. Two years ago we began a campaign to announce that the people of the world were directly entering the global political narrative and that we have no intention of ever leaving. We are still here – battered & scarred we may be, but ‘Occupy!’ is still a vibrant global call for an exploited humanity. The time is ripe for revolution.

Greetings world. We are anonymous. We are the people.

Governments of the world: take this message as your last will and testament. The game is officially over. Social media has given birth to something new. Now it's time to set the record straight. This video is intended as that spark that gets delivered straight into the hearts and minds of the world. This video is an idea – a shared idea – so listen very carefully and make sure you are sitting down.

On the 5th of November 2013, Anonymous call for a day of global civil disobedience. This time we target all government facilities across the globe. Calling all free thinkers: the time for civil disobedience is now. This time it also seems unions from around the world are supporting this action. The lion sleeps no more. Ask yourself this: where will you be when we make history? November 5th, 2013. Worldwide. Now it's a vendetta. Now it's personal. Now it's time to occupy everywhere. It's time to throw everything we have at November 5th. It's time to relight the flame of protest until our demands are met. Now it's time for our brothers and sisters of the awakening to take to the streets. Austerity means war.

Here's to the dreamers, the one's that stand for human freedom, the Occupiers, the people that change things. It's about solidarity, but more than that, it's about the people, the people we meet, the people of the world standing together for a common goal. Concerned by numerous ecological and social problems, we stand united. As long as there are young and idealist people that share the views of ultimate human freedom, there will always be hope for the world.

We are anonymous. We are legion. We do not forgive. We do not forget. On November 5th, 2013: EXPECT US.

Chicagoans Gather to Protest Budget Cuts, Corporate Welfare, Call for One Term Mayor

This 4th of July, Chicagoans opposed to Mayor Emanuel’s extreme budget cuts to public services, and policies of corporate welfare, will peacefully converge at the Mayor’s house, at 4228 N Hermitage, to speak out against these austerity measures and celebrate citywide resistance to his mayorship.

"At a time when working people are already struggling to make ends meet, Mayor Emanuel is eliminating thousands of jobs across the city every year," says Greg Goodman, event organizer. "The loss of these jobs throws families and communities even further into crisis, and creates a chain effect that ripples out to negatively impact an ever growing number of Chicagoans. In the midst of all this, Rahm is systematically dismantling the social programs that ordinary people rely on to help them through times of crisis, and selling our public institutions and resources off to corporate profiteers."

After gathering at Chase Park (Ashland and Leland) at 12pm on July 4th, Chicagoans fed up with Mayor Emanuel’s austerity plans will hold a peaceful block party on his street (4200 block of Hermitage). The event will include music, dancing, and speakers.

"People who are barely getting by are being punished for the mistakes of the super-rich," says local organizer Kelly Hayes. "That's what austerity is. We're going to let Mayor Emanuel know we didn't create this crisis, and we're not going to pay for it."

Last weekend, anti-austerity activists including UK Uncut and Occupy London targeted the U.S. corporation Starbucks for tax avoidance while making a point about the disproportionate impact of austerity on women. Over 40 protests occurred across the UK at Starbucks shops, UK Uncut's biggest day of action yet. Protesters staged sit-in occupations and transformed Starbucks cafes into refuges, crèches, libraries, and homeless shelters in protest against the impact of the government's cutting of services ranging from subsidies for single mothers to rape crisis centers. Occupy Wall Street stands in solidarity with this brilliant action to attack austerity and demonstrate the alternatives of mutual aid and resistance, while also calling attention to the inherent hypocrisy of governments' allowing multinational corporations to avoid taxes while cutting services to the poor. This issue is by no means limited to the UK only; these actions stand as an inspiration and one possible model for resistance movements fighting austerity across the world.

Growing public anger at Starbucks was clear today as over 40 of their shops across the UK- including in Liverpool, Cardiff, Bristol and Shrewsbury- were targeted today by the anti-cuts direct action network, UK Uncut.

In central London a creche and women's refuge were set up in Starbuck's flagship stores, and in Birmingham people slept in sleeping bags on the floor to highlight homelessness. In Barnet, activists turned Starbucks into a library, while in York protesters handed out free tea and coffee in store.

The group took action to confront the company over its tax avoidance and highlight the impact of the government's cuts on women.[1]

Mass Rally at Thursday 5PM Times Square!

Direct Actions and Marches to Follow

Last week, 200 workers at Wendy's, McDonald's, Burger King, Domino's and Taco Bell went on strike and joined workers at Car Washes, Supermarkets, and Airports throughout NYC in demanding better pay working conditions.

On December 6th we’re standing up to protect the right to organize!

Too many low wage workers rely on public assistance to get by in our economy. While workers throughout the city are making near or below minimum wage or are fighting to protect their wages and benefits, CEOs are making record incomes and their lobbyists are pushing our elected officials to cut spending on social programs and extend tax cuts for the richest 2%.

We won't stand for this. We won't stand policies that prioritize tax cuts for millionaires over funding programs that working families rely on. And we are telling workers who are struggling at work that we've got their back.

Stand with workers as they come together to demand better wages and working conditions and economic policy that’s good for all of us.